Foot arch support



1933- A. CHURCHILL EAL ,934,

FOOT ARCH SUPPORT Filed April 5, 1932 Patented Nov. 7, 19 33. I

UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs- FOOT Anon snrr'on'r Alfred Churchill and Gordon Haworth," Button, England, assignors to Foot Appliances (Buzton) Limited, Buxton, England, a British com- P y Application April 5, 1932, Serial No. 603,398, and

in Great Britain April 17, 1931 2 Claims.

conductor of heat.

According to our present invention, the support is of laminated structure, a large number of thin layers being bonded together with synthetic resin and subjected to heat and pressure in ,-moulds or dies so as to give a very strong though light structure which will not readil'y fracture or crack in service. We may also provide additional laminae or thicknesses of material at or adjacent to parts where additional support is needed, so

as to strengthen such parts without making the whole device too rigid or lacking in flexibility.

Referring to the accompanying explanatory drawinsz- Figure 1 is an inverted plan view and Figure 2 a sectional view on the line A B of Figure 1 showing a foot support made in one convenient form in accordance with our invention. The thicknesses of the added laminae for giving local strength have been greatly exaggerated for convenience and clearness of illustration. It will be appreciated that in accordance with our invention the support may contain as many as 100 layers of very fine material and the added local strengthening layers may be in considerable numbers but after being subjected to heat and pressure the whole presents a smooth surface free from any apparent difference in construction.

Figures 3 and 4 show two modified constructions of support.

Figure 5 is an inverted plan View of a further modified construction and Figure 6 a section on the line C D of Figure 5. In this figure, the projecting ribs have been exaggerated in appearance to make the character of the reinforcement more clear.

Figures 7 and 8 show two further modifications. In Figures 1 and 2, the foot support is made of a large number of layers of material, such as linen, silk, paper, asbestos fibre and the like which after impregnation with synthetic resin are pressed in a mould whilst subjected to a temperature of for example, 250 to 350 F. and a pressure of about 2000 lbs. per square inch. The

outer layers are preferably of a woven material to minimize the liability to breakage or fracture of the surface.

Upon the underside of the laminated material, we preferably provide a plurality of layers of material represented at a Figures 1 and 2, which strengthen or stiffen the arch of the support whilst leaving the complete support relatively flexible at the ends. The support is domed at b. The toe end of the support is flattened at d to prevent it digging into the material of the boot l or shoe of the wearer during flexing of the support.

In Figure 3, the ends of the strengthening laminae a are shaped to reduce the thickening of the support at its ends and so increase the flexibility.

In Figure 4, separate strengthening lamina: are arranged at each side of the device as shown at a and a If the dome in the support is not needed this I5 may be omitted.

In the constructions shown in Figures 5-8, additional strength is provided by applying extra material to the laminated support so as to pro duce ribs at c (of material similar to that constituting the support) which when the support is finished under heat and pressure becomes consolidated with the material of the support. The mould in which the pressure is applied has grooves therein in which the material of the ribs is accommodated during the consolidating operation. The ribs may be of different shapes as shown in Figures 5, '7 and 8 to give the desired additional support to the foot arch.

It will be understood that the dome gives support to the metatarsal arch.

When finished, a support produced as herein described has its shape permanently fixed as although it is resilient and will yield under the weight of the wearer without fracture, it always returns to its predetermined shape.

What we claim is:

1. A foot arch support of laminated structure having the laminations or layers bonded together with synthetic resin, comprising a large number of thin layers of similar shape and size, and a further large number of thin layers of gradually decreasing size applied to said layers of similar shape and size where additional support is needed and so as to be external and adjacent thereto, the thin layers being bonded together and subjected to heat and pressure in moulds or dies whereby the layers of similar shape and size form the flexible base of the foot arch support and the layers of gradually decreasing size are consize, the thin layers being bonded together and subjected to heat and pressure in moulds or dies whereby the layers of similar shape and size are formed into the flexible base of the foot arch support and are domed to support the metatarsal arch, and the layers of gradually decreasing size are consolidated therewith to strengthen said flexible base where support is needed for the longitudinal arch.

ALFRED CHURCHILL.

GORDON HAWORTH. 

